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While watching the Ravens’ Week 3 victory over the hilarious Jacksonville Jags (and their SUPER happy fans in the pool), I happened to catch a little chant after the first Jaguars touchdown. It sounded a bit like Seven Nation Army at first, but upon further review…it wasn’t. It was Bro Hymn by Pennywise which, in my opinion, is a phenomenal song with a far superior chant and I was immediately jealous.

[youtube]https://youtu.be/LdxkUnnHIkY[/youtube]

Let’s not tiptoe around the point, and get straight to the elephant in the room (which is a phenomenal pun if you realize this song comes from the White Stripes album Elephant):

Seven Nation Army is the most overused, over-hyped, simplistic chant of a song that has ever graced the sports world. And it’s about time that we let it go, Baltimore.

If you’re nodding in agreement? Noice.

If you’re already pecking away to send a comment in disgust? Read on first. You may change your mind… (and if you don’t, then I’m assuming you’re still bitter about my craft beer tailgating comments. LET IT GO BRO.)

For the full history of this song, Deadspin has a great piece from a few years back, but here’s the quick version: The White Stripes, led by front man and incredibly amazing guitarist Jack White (his ex-wife, Meg White, on the drums, but as a fellow drummer, I’m not sure she qualifies…oh wait, does that make me a drum snob too??) released the song Seven Nation Army in 2003. The song made it’s way through the Euro League as a chant over the next decade, and eventually starting popping up in US stadiums across the country.

In short, despite many fans claiming that Baltimore made Seven Nation Army a ‘thing,’ they surely did no such thing.

And get this! The Ravens are not the only team chanting this song! Far from it, actually!

Just a quick glimpse into teams that either currently chant the song like a bunch of drones, or have in recent years:

Baltimore Ravens/Orioles

Detroit Lions

New York Knicks

New Jersey Devils

New York Islanders

Literally every college basketball or football team

Your local pee wee football team

Worker at the nursing home around the corner after they save a guy falling down

The awkward teen who just got a girls number for the first time

Heck, it’s been stale for years now. I find myself rolling my eyes whenever I hear the chant (most recently while watching an O’s game on MASN- I know! I was shocked they had enough butts in seats to hear it on TV too!).

Seven Nation Army is literally the fan chant equivalent of being a Yankees fan. It’s the popular thing to do, so everybody does it. But is that us Ravens fans? Is Baltimore a bandwagon-type city?

Don’t answer. I’ll do it for you.

NO!

This town and this team is better than the Seven Nation Army generic, run of the mill chant. This is a town that shouts “OOOOOOO!!” during the national anthem. This is a town where we spent over a decade celebrating and imitating the Ray Lewis squirrel dance. And if you want to take it a step further with a good chunk of the Capitals fan base sharing the purple and black affinity, this is a fan base who screams at the top of their lungs “UNLEASH… THE… FURY!!!” (those non-hockey fans, or those in the ‘anything DC sucks’ brigade, cool your jets).

We have passion. We have pride. And this 13-year-old, ho-hum song just isn’t representative of that. This song says conformist! It implies we’re the same as everybody else! It screams mediocrity!

So with all of that said… here’s my suggestion:

I don’t know. You tell me.

Sure, I could give you suggestions, but what I believe is ‘good music’ may suck to others, just as what others consider music I may consider hot garbage (hey! Just like the beer argument!). Multiply that musical disparity by 71,008 (max capacity at The Bank) and you’ll never get an easy consensus on what SHOULD be the Ravens new chant/song for home games (and those road warriors repping the team proudly!).

What do you think of 7 Nation Army?

Perhaps the Ravens can find a way to turn this into a contest to make it more interesting. Maybe they could take suggestions from the public to submit what they believe should be the Ravens new chant/song, have fans vote online, and go from there… you see that Ravens? I got dibs on that idea! I want royalties if you pursue that route!

(seriously guys, call me and I’ll walk you through the details!)

But I suppose it could be worse… We could be waving little dish rags in circles…

And while I have you here, can we talk about the Ravens Fight Song?

Do me a favor and sing the song… oh you can’t? And the only words you know are ‘Fight! Fight! Fight!’ and for some, ‘Fly on to victory!’ and that’s it?

Maybe we should be reassessing this one too…

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About Adam Bonaccorsi

Living on the farce-side of Baltimore sports, Adam spends his time focusing on the satirical nature of our local teams- conveniently, sometimes the narrative writes itself! He's not one to shy away from controversial opinions, speaking his mind, or dropping a truth bomb into the Purple Kool Aid. More from Adam Bonaccorsi

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Lombardi’s Way - A column from the 24×7 founder that focuses on the Ravens, the NFL, Baltimore, the world of sports or life’s inspirations.

Word on The Street - In the spirit of the CBS Sports Minute with Boomer Esiason, RSR brings you Word on The Street, a 90 second (or less) podcast on topics exclusively relating to the Baltimore Ravens.

Ravens Links - We’ll give you the best stories about the Ravens from around the web three times per week.

The Fanimal - If you are an animal about the Baltimore Ravens, then you are a Fanimal! Follow the Russell Street Report blog Fanimal Crackers!

The Edgar Awards - The Edgar Awards will range from the Maryland county that is home to the best Ravens fans to the best Ravens podcast; from the best collection of displaced fans to the best local craft brews that should be part of your next tailgating party.

The Road to RSR - Our writers explains their journeys as fans and how they came to write for our little corner of sports media.